Tampering with Asylum: A Universal Humanitarian Problem

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University of Queensland Press, 2003 - Fiction - 234 pages
By denying the Tampa and its cargo of asylum seekers permission to dock at the nearest landfall of Christmas Island, Australia signalled that it was dramatically closing its national borders. Trading on fear, and using mandatory detention in the Pacific, John Howard and Philip Ruddock effectively excluded asylum seekers from the Australian courts.Frank Brennan argues that the Australian government s response was a massive overreaction, possible only because Australia is a remote country with few asylum seekers and no land borders. He compares Australia s response with that of the United States and Europe and provides a practical blueprint for countries wanting to humanely protect asylum seekers.'A timely, topical book...penetrating.'

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Contents

of today
15
Four waves Tampa and a firebreak
28
Border control
58
Copyright

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About the author (2003)

Frank Brennan is a Jesuit priest, professor of law at the Australian Catholic University, and adjunct professor at the College of Law and the National Centre for Indigenous Studies at the Australian National University. He has written a number of books on indigenous issues and civil liberties. His most recent books are No Small Change (2015), which examines indigenous issues in Australia's Constitution, Tampering with Asylum (2003), which compares Australia's asylum policies with those of other first-world countries, and Acting on Conscience (2007), which looks at the place of religion in Australian politics and law. In 2009, he chaired the National Human Rights Consultation. He is an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for services to Aboriginal Australians, particularly as an advocate in the areas of law, social justice and reconciliation.